Automobile light-shifter.



v J. G. BECKER. AUTOMOBILE LIGHT SHIFTBIL APPLICATION FILED JAN.'30, 1913.

1,072,41 8. Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

v 1 2 sums-sum 1.

' 1 29 Witnesse Inventor by v . r I q.

Attorneys J. G. BECKER. AUTOMOBILE LIGHT SHIFTER.

APPLICATION FILED 31.11.30, 1913.

Patented Sept. 9, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

a2 7 If J9. (mi/161mm Attorney s Inventor r15 may 1mm; e: micfimgrbjr lcnz riaannm mrssounr.

.To-aZZ whom'it may concern: 7 l

HBetit known that If; 'JonniGildnoann afl citizen of the United. .States, yrejsidingwiat' Campbelh. in .the cminty JoffIDunl-rlinl and 5 State :of Missouri; 1 lmve-linventeduraqi new I handquseful zAut-omobile Light sliifter, of which the fol-lowingisiazspecifination:

. ,(Dheldevice formingithe: subject matter :of

. 1- .this ,applicationg-is a apted to beeen ployed .10 ,upon .an automobile or..dikestructure, ior' shiftingithe lamps oflthe -.an,tomobile; aethe vhicle=roundsa.curvezon-turns'a cornen: -s' f one object of thepresentinventicnlis .to. .j provide novel -means whereby the-lamps be turned ,either'-fromflie.. .steering wheel shaft-or by independent aneans underi the control of the operator of the car. .Another-object of the invention is.'to= pro- .vide novel means whereby but .one lamp at L'O-atime may .be turned, said .lampabeing'.

turned outwardly. It is within the scope of'the invention .to :rimprove general y and. to .incraee the .1ntility1.of,..devices ofthat txpe to which n ith theforegoing-and other objects in i the. which will appeamasithe description I .mr i i he inventiop resides. in the com-- :gfizzthe resentinventionuapp'ertains.

' jbinatibn anda'rrangeinent of parts and in" -the details 1 of construction: hereinafter .de-

-. bed? and claimed; it -.being. un de that changes. in the- .precise :embochment of -ainventibn:can-.lie-made. within the .-what is claimed without departinggirom 85 the-spirit of the invention; A I

.,- In the drawing :F.1gure 1' shbws\.the n- 'uention 'in top plan;"Fig.; 2 =is-a. side ale.- xation of thatportion of thee mechanism which is located adjacent the-steering wheel of the. automobile; Fig. 3- isia perspective -.showing,. one of the-actuating-bell cranks and the support therefor; Fig, 4 is ,a p 1? 'snectiveshowingthat gortion of theniecha- ,msm which is locate adjacent ,the lamp -45.bracket; 'Fig. 5- is a perspective of the spring controlled arm ,whereby' theglamp, having been swung outwardly, 1 s returned to a position -parallel to the line of ad- Hence-of the vehicle; and-Fig. 1s a er- 60, spective -'0f a bell crank -W coapemteq -withthe element shown in Fi v5.

In-the'drawingthenumera 1 indicates the foot board of. a.- motor propelled; .vehicle; the numeral 2 indicating the dash,

{Mal-ward .and'..-the numeral 3"'lind1cati ng .the

I esp'ectQl'Ji/elon ofrliet'terswiatent. Application a eergane aogisia'g Serial No. 145,255.

Patented Sept .=9,"1 913.

Secured to thehdash board. 2. and promot ngforwardlytherefrom is a bearing bracket! 42in which the steering shaft 5 is jou:naled,.the steering shaft 5 being pro- ;Yided with an abutment 6, receiving a, nn. .ion fly-held in place by..a collar 8. The

.pinion 'Z meshesinto another pinion which may take the form of asegment .9, mounted toswin'gon a shaftlO projecting from the .bearing bracket, the segment 9 being .pro- ,v1ded with. a depending arm .11, carrying a-fsupporting pint-=12. 'l-here is another pm liuponthebracket 4, the -pins.12..and l4 j cqiiperating in. a mannerwhich will be set .forth hereinafter. 1 .70 .Mounted-removably ,upon the pin v12 which is carried byithe segment-9 is a late 15, to the'kcnds of whic are. secure re tractile springs 16, the outenends of .the-

,springs 16 being united with-:.the -ende-o a :5

connecting rod l7. i 'Brackets 18- are secured to the. dash board 2," the brackets 18 supupright lshafis .19 upon which are ourna ed hubs -20; -provided ...-withi-rear wardly extended. arms 21 -to .which the ex-. 50 tremities of the connecting rod. 1'}. are pivotally. TIhe' hubs. 20...carry other arms denoted'separately-b'yi thereference characters 22 and-23, the arms'and'the hubs constituting bell cranks fulcrum'ed ;upon the. 86 brackets '18. l I'.I?he arm .22 :ofonebell crank is united by J..means of universal joint. 24 with. a rearwa'rdlyextended pitmana25 ivotedlto the 1 lowerend of an extension 26. orm'ed-Ippon av pedal. 27; fulcrum'ed upon. a-shaftlgQS supported terminally by'the upstanding arms of a standard. 29' which is secured =-to the foot board. 1. 1A connecting rod 30lis pivoted at its nearend as indicated at 3lto the :arm 23 of the pthe'r bell crank." The forward 'end ofthe connectingrod 30 is pivoted as shown at .32 to .an arm 33; projecting from a hub 3i, theihub 34-;being-provided with .an .angularlyidisposedarm 35 which ex- ;tends rearwardly.". '1he :hub .34 is mounted to rotate upon ashaftfifi, carrying aalamp support 37,..the shaft 36 bei g. Journaled in a-brackett38wwhich issecured to the chassis 3. The bracket 38d equipped with 1 a-fcrwardly extended arm 39ahavingan upstanding lug 10. I

The. mvention" further. includesian .arm 41 rovided 'with. a head .42 receiving the sha?t' 36; the" head-Aimingheld. upon the 35 hand side ofthe vehicle frame, saving for the shaft 36 by means of a set the arm 41 is held upon-theijshaft 36hy means of the set screw 43, 3.6, fthe'.

arm 41 and the lamp support 7+ which is attached to the upper endlof thejshaft 36 constitute a-str'ucture which,- for convenience in description, may be designated as a lamp holder. The head 42 is *equipped with: a shoulder 44 coiiperating with a shoulder 45 formed'pn' the lower end ofthe hub 34. The hub 34' and the head 42, aselearlyshown, respectivelyfinuFigs. '6 and 5 are provided with spiral end faces, re-

sulting in the formation ofthe-shoulde'rs above referred to. Owing to theconstruction above pointed out, thehead- 42 and the hub 34 have large terminal bearing areas, wear beingthereby distributed oVer-relatively large areas. It isobvious, owing'to the construction above described, .that the hub 34- must havea-slight endwise 'move-.

' ment upon the shaft 36, this movement being very small but-being sufiicientlto permit the shoulders 45 and'441to' coact. at set screw 46 is threaded in the intermediate-portion of the arm 41,'the setscrew 46=being adapted to engage with the lug- 40of the hearing I 38. A- retractile spring47 unites the 'for-v ward end of the arm 41; with the; forward end of the extension 39-of the bracket'33. Pivoted as shownrat' 48 the rear end of the armt-is a cross rod49.

. "-The structure shown-in Figs.4,-51and 3,

fandlocatedupon the right hand side of-the vehicle frame is duplicated upon the left fact that the arm 33,-hereinbefore described a is omitted.-

Fig. l' ofthe drawing, the

elements which are located upon theleft hand, side of the vehicle frame-are indicated by the-sufiix a and theleft-hand end of the cross rod 49 is ivotedgas shown at 50 to the remand .o the rearwardly extended arm 35?. A

It will be understood that ball hearings or like anti-friction elements may be employed wherever necessary. "In order to simplify the drawings, and to shorten the descrip tion, no mention has been made of antifriction,-bearings but any skilled mechanic,= with the present disclosure before him, will be entirely competent to make the required changes along this line,- without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In practical operation, when the steering shaft 5 is rotated, r otato -movement will be transmitted to thegpimon? and thence tothesegmentQ. .The segment 9, swinging u on its fulcrum 10 will, through the medrum of thesprmgs 16, impart movement. to

the connecting rod 17, motion-ythus being transmitted to the bell crank comprising the hub 20 and the arms '21 and23', located at the right hand side of the vehicle, the rod 30 being actuated' When the rod 30' tion of the ushed forwardly, the hub 34 will be r0 -tated' through themedium of the arm 33, the-hpb-34 turning upon the lamp shaft 36. -When"'the hub34 is'rotated in this manner to the right, the shoulder 45 on the hub 34 will enga-ge' with the shoulder 44 of the arm 41, thearm 41 being fined to the lamp shaft 36. In this manner, the lamp support 37 -yvill be rotated outwardly, and to the right. When the arm 41 is swunggthe spring 47 wvill'b put-under tension, thespring 47 constituting a means forswinging the free end of the arm 41 toward-the chassis, and for restorin'g'the right-rhand support 37'to its original position. The set screw 46 which is threaded into the arm 41 is adapted to engagew'ith the lug 40, on the extension 39 of the bearing 38; Owing to the cotiperaarts la'st' above described, the movement '0' the lamp support 37, under the actuationof the spring 47, will-be limited, so that the damp *will point straight; ahead-.'

Obviouslyyi'the set "screw 46; constitutes a means for'adjusti'ng the position of the iright hand lamp support,'so that :the'lamp carried ill ereby will-"normally face directly to the ont.

imparted to the "rod 30. Then the hub 34 will be rotated upon thelar'rip shaft 36, The

right hand lamp support '37,- however, will not beswung inwar ly,' toward the center of the 'vehicle, because, when the 'hub' 34 is rotated in the" manner hereinbefore described, 'the'shoulder45 of the hub 34 will move' -awa'y from the shoulder 44 of-the arm 41 which-"is secured tohthe lamp shaft 36. Under the clrcumsta-nces above pointed out,

'thearm 35 will impart movement to the cross rod 49, the lams swinging mechanism upon ftheleft hand si e of the vehiclebeingoperated in the manner hereinbefore set forth; The lamp upport 37, therefore, is

adapted to swin'g'o "twardly, to follow the curve the vehicle is taking, but i's'not adapted to swing inwardly, the lam supports be: ing selectively actuable "to swin -outwardly eration it has been pre- 'Supposefthat a rearward pull hasbeen crank comprising the arm and associated parts, motion being thus transmitted into the connectin rod 17 and thence. by way of the right hand bell crank i'nchxding the arm 23, into the connecting rod 30. as hereinbefore described. Owing ,to the fuctlthat the rod 17 is yieldably com-meted to the sogment 9 through the mediumof the springs p n 12 which is carried by the arm 11 of the segment 9, the plate being then suspended upon the pin 14 which is carried by the bearing bracket l. There'upon, the steering shaft 5 may be manipulatcdfrcely without turning the lamps. I

. The lamp supports the arms 41 may be referred to collectively as lamp holders. The shoulders 45 and 44' constitute interengaging elements for rotat-' ing the shafts36 and thesupports 37.

Having thus described, the invention, what is claimed is 1. In a device of. the class described, rotatable lamp holders; means for limiting the inward rotation of the holders beyond predetermined points; members rotatable upon the holders; a connection uniting the said members; interengagin'g elements upon the said members and on the holders; for imparting outward rotation to the holders separately; and means for actuating the connection.

2. Ina device of the class described, rotatable lamp holders; means for limiting the inward rotation of the holders beyond a predetermined point, said means comprisin cooperating elements, one of which 1s fiXe and the "other of which is adjustable to posi tion the holders with respect to theline of travel; yield able means for actuating the holderstocause said elements to cooperate;

members rotatable upon the holders; a con nection between the said members; interengaging elements on thesaid members and the holders for imparting outward rotation to the holdersseparately; and means for actuating the connection.

3. In a device of the class described a bracket; a lamp support including a shaft journaled in' the bracket; an arm secured to the shaft and constitutin a meansfor upholding the shaft upon the racket; a hub mounted for rotation on the shaft, above the arm, and adapted to slide longitudinally of the shaft; interengaging shoulders upon the hub and upon the arm, adapted to swing the arm and the shaftoutwardly when the hub is actuated; a, screw threaded into the arm and adapted to abut against the bracket; a retractile spring connecting the arm with the bracket; and means for actuat ing the hub. I Y

4, In a device of the class described, a steering shaft; intermeshing pinions, one

of which is located upon the steering shaft,

the other of which is supported independently of the shaft, for rotation; a rod 37, the shafts 36, and

mounted to move transversely of the steer-- ing shaft; a yieldable connection between the last specified pinion and the rod; a to tatably mounted lamp support; and means for connecting the rod with. the port.

- 5. In a device of the class described, a

steering shaft; a pedal; a movably mounted member; means for operatively connecting the movably mounted member with the pedal; means for operatively connecting the movably mounted member with the steering.

shaft, said means including a yieldable element adapted to permit the movably mounted member to be actuated by the pedal, independently of the steering shaft; a movable lamp support; and an operative con nection between the lamp support and the movably mounted member.

6. In a device of the class described, bell cranks; means for supporting the bell cranks; a rod connecting the bell cranks at one end; a pedal; means for operatively connecting the pedal with the other end of one hell crank' a lane su ort' means for operatively connecting the lamp support with. the other end ofthe other bell crank;

a rotatably mounted steering shaft ;"a movably mounted member; and means for operatively connecting the movably mounted including a yieldable element permitting the actuation of the movably mounted memher from the pedal, independently of the steering shaft.

member With the steering shaft, said means 7. In a device of the class described, le-

vers; means for supporting the levers for swinging movement; a connection between? the lovers; a pedal operatively connected with one lever; a lamp support; means'for operatively connecting the .lamp support with the other lever; a steering shaft, and

means for operatively connecting the steering shaft with the first named connection, said means including a yieldable element, permitting an actuation of the first named connection by the a pedal, independently of the steering shaft.

8. In a device of the class described, a

bearing bracket; a. shaft journaled therein; a pinion on the shaft; a pinion rotatable on the bracketand meshing into thefirst specified pinion; projections upon the pinion of the bracket and upon the bracket; a

resilient structure adapted to be mounted upon either projection; a lamp support; and

mechanism for operatively connecting the resilient structure with the lamp support.

9. In a device of the class described, a

steering-shaft; intermeshing pinions, one.

of whichis fixed on the shaft, the other of which is upheld for rotation independently of the shaft; projections, one of which is located upon the last specified pinion, the other of which is supported independently- Connection; and means for operatively con-- necking the lamp support with the other end of t e connection.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signw 1o ture in the presence of two wltness'es.

JOHN G. BECKER.

Witnesses:

L. R. MAHAR, R. J SMITH.

Washington, D. G. 

